A Plea from Destiny
by Childofthedawn90
Summary: Thor has lost his hammer, but this time it could have ended up in the hands of a god he is not familiar with.
1. Chapter 1

Dakota

Deep snores filled the whole barracks, while a glass of bright red Kool-Aid continued to spill a small stream from the slack hand that dangled over the bunk. A curly black haired teen mumbled incoherently in his sleep, most likely becoming disturbed by the torch that was being held over him. This time his mumbles became coherent.

"Turn the light off." he grunted, as he rolled over, dropping the glass in the process. This finally woke him up, causing him to jump up and nearly into the fire of the torch held over him. Reaching for his gladius, he jumped to his feet. "Who are you? What are you doing here? Man, I better not be seeing things!"

The torch moved slightly to reveal a woman with light brown hair in a neat bun, large, bat-like wings, and soft, brown eyes. Her attire was a simple, short white dress, with cross straps over the breast, and fur boots. "You must help me. You are the only one who can stop him, stop what he is doing."

The teenager gripped his gladius firmly. "What are you talking about? How did you get in here? Am I hallucinating? I really got to cut back on the Kool-Aid."

"No, Dakota, son of Bacchus, you are not hallucinating. Please, you must help me." The woman then turned, and began to walk out.

Dakota sheathed his gladius, and made his way out of the barracks, wondering why everyone else was still asleep. When he made it outside, however, there was no sign of the winged woman.

"Hey, Dakota! Never seen you get such an early start!" another centurion called as he walked by. It was still pitch black outside.

Dakota rubbed his eyes, and disgruntled, made his way back to his bunk. He groaned when he saw the mess his spilled Kool-Aid had made, and set about to clean it up. "Reyna will kill me if this stains the floor."

Hearthstone

Sea spray splashed the sides of the ship as the warm sun beat down on the sailors. A pale male with spikey blond hair and gray eyes sat in the helm, rolling runestones absently around in his hands. The sun felt incredible on his skin, which was very healthy for him. In fact, if he kept out of the sun for too long, the consquences could prove fatal.

Unfortunately, that was the exact opposite of his friend, the Svartalf, Blitzen. Too much time in the sun would turn his friend into stone, which was exactly why Blitzen was not with them on this ship. Instead, they had a giant, one eyed boy and a woman headed bird that spoke very random things. He wasn't quite sure what to make of his new knowledge that there were other gods out there in the world other than the Aesir and Vanir, or that these other gods had children, too, and they also had missions to save the world, much like his friend Magnus did.

It seemed a bit confusing. For example, were these other...what had the Greeks said, Demigods?...on missions the same time they were? Was everything all interconnected? Could Loki's escape and the prospect of Ragnarok be the same thing as the Greek's fight with...whoever it was? All these names were so strange.

He glanced over when Magnus sat down next to him.

"So, supposedly, our companions are supposed to give us safe passage across the sea." Magnus stated. "The giant one claims to be the son of their sea god, which should prevent Ran from trying anything."

 _Can he be trusted? Are their giants different from our giants?_

Magnus shrugged. "I trust Annabeth, Hearth."

Their questions and uncertainty was interrrupted when a unkempt man suddenly appeared infront of them. His clothes were exceptionally dirty and his red hair and beard were tangled.

"Ah! There you are! Been looking for you! Been kind of hard to find you; your new friends kind of threw off my search. Strange things, too, never seen anything like them!"

The one eyed giant waved happily at the wild looking man.

"Lord Thor, this is Tyson and Ella. They are accompaning us on our return from our latest mission." Magnus explained.

 _Let me guess, he has lost his hammer again._

"Good to see you too!" Thor exclaimed, as usual mistaking Hearth's sign language. Which was a good thing; half of what Hearth signed in Thor's presence wasn't generally praising.

"So, Magnus, I need your help with something. A certain thing of mine is not where I...ah...left it, and this misplaced item could be wrecking havoc. But, it is-"

 _Definitely not missing._ Hearth wondered just how many times he would read those words coming from the thunder god's mouth. Unbelievable.

"See, your friend is already willing to help! What a great person you are!" Thor clapped Hearth roughly on the back. "And good thing your new interesting friends are here! I believe they can help with this!"

And with that, the god was gone. Magnus collapsed next to the Light Elf. "You know, I was looking forward to returning home, and actually having a day, just a day, of not having to save the world or anything."

Tyson leaned over Magnus with a cheery grin. "It's okay, Magnus! My brother says the same thing all the time!"

"Does he ever get a day off?" Magnus asked.

"Not really!" Tyson beamed, as he walked back to steer the ship.


	2. Chapter 2

Reyna

The two metallic dogs watched sadly as their owner packed her things from the praetor office. When the gold one, Aurum whimpered slightly, the woman paused putting items in a bag, and glanced over at him.

"Aurum, you knew this day would come. Praetors only serve a year. My term is up." she stated curtly. She looked up with stern dark eyes when a knock came on the door.

"Enter." she commanded.

Frank Zhang entered the room. "They are ready, now, Reyna."

"Thank you, Frank." Reyna sighed, and set her bag aside. She strode purposefully toward the door, but stopped when she reached Frank. She saluted him in the ancient Roman style; holding her arm straight out and her palm facing downward. "It has been an honor serving with you as praetor."

Frank looked away, and Reyna could tell that it was because he didn't want her to see him get emotional. He returned the salute, but could not find anything to say.

Reyna left the praetor's quarters, escorted by her two automaton dogs, Aurum and Argentum. She made her way to the Forum, where the whole 12th Legion Fulminata would be waiting for the passing of the office. She would also receive another bar tatoo, as it was now her fifth year of service. She gave a short speech of the honor of having served as their leader and commander, and ceremonially handed over her toga praetexta, the purple bordered garment worn by praetors and magistrrates.

Her successor was a legacy of the goddess of duty and loyalty, Pietas, and Reyna was branded with her fifth stripe by a legacy of the goddess of the future, Antevorta. The only thing missing was a reading from an augur, but since Apollo had gone missing, none of his children or legacies had been able to predict anything. So, Reyna's exit from office was the first that had never had a reading, and her successor had no omen read for his coming term. Antevorta's legacy had stepped in to do the stripe branding, which was another thing Apollo's descendants normally did.

Soon the ceremony was over, and Reyna returned to finish packing her things from the office. It would be different returning to the barracks as a regular soldier, but part of her was in a sense relieved. It was like a weight was being lifted from her shoulders, but at the same time it was bittersweet.

Hazel

Hazel left the passing of the office, and joined the regrouping Fifth Cohort as they headed to the mess hall. As she walked, she noticed her fellow centurion, Dakota, was talking quietly with the legacy of Antevorta. Whatever it was, it seemed serious; both of them seemed tense. It was not long before Dakota departed to join the rest of the Cohort.

Concerned, Hazel changed close slightly to walk next to him. "Hello, Dakota. Is everything alright? You haven't seemed quiet yourself today."

Dakota waved his hand dismissively and forced a grin. "Hey, Hazel. Everything's great!"

Hazel gave him the level look that she often gave Frank that screamed, Uh huh sure, you going to tell me what's really going on.

Dakota stared at her for a moment, making her feel like she was leaning with his one, unfocusing eye. "Ah, alright." he said, heaving a dramatic sigh before taking a swig from his Kool Aid flask. "Ok, you promise not to tell anyone?"

Hazel leaned closer. "Of course!"

"So, for the last few nights, I have been being visited by...well, I'm not quite sure who it is. It is no one I recognize."

"Ooookay." Hazel said. She said this more in a Please continue your story voice than a I don't believe you voice. After all she had seen and heard of in the overlapping universe of Greek and Roman mythology, there wasn't much anymore that surprised her.

"She came to me begging me to help her. That I must stop some guy." Dakota continued. "Then she leaves the barracks and vanishes. Everytime I try to pursue her, she just disappears."

"Hmm." Hazel stroked her chin thoughtfully. "You said you don't recognize her?"

"No. I mean she has to be like a deity or something, right? Or maybe some strange demigod?"

Hazel chuckled. "New Rome certainly does attract strange demigods."

Even Dakota laughed at that. "So, what do I do? I was talking to the Antevorta chick, since Apollo's augurs are silent. She said she would try to contact the goddess to find out something. All this interrupting of my sleep has to stop."

"Do you think she will return if I stay up with you? Maybe I can help if I see her." Hazel offered.

"Sure, yeah, I mean what is it going to hurt?" Dakota stated.

Magnus

"Ok, so what is our game plan?" Magnus asked, as they all sat on the deck, with Tyson and the steering wheel in the center of their conference circle.

"Why are we the designated Thor hammer retrievers? Like, isn't it someone else's turn, as in anyone in the Nine Worlds...other than us?" Alex asked, lowering herself to the floor and sitting crosslegged. Today, Magnus could sense Alex was a girl. He still wasn't sure how he could tell that.

Agreed. Hearth signed.

"I'm not sure how I am supposed to help, but I will do what I can!" Tyson said cheerily. "This is kind of cool, meeting strange gods!"

He has the strange part right. Hearth retorted.

Alex pushed Tyson's leg playfully. "Course you are! You are a bonafide member of the Thor Hammer Saver group now!"

"Definitely." Magnus agreed. "We could not have done this whole sailing thing without you. We'd probably still be sitting in the Boston Harbor trying to figure out how to lower a sail!"

"Ella too! Ella goes with Tyson!" Ella exclaimed. "Ella will help find Thor's hammer. Hammer also symbol of ancient death god Charun!"

Everyone turned to look at Ella.

"I can't tell if that is a clue, or more trivia." Alex said.

"Trivia Pursuit, popular board game!" Ella continued.

"I for one am fresh out of ideas. We have absolutely no clues this time as to where it could be." Magnus pointed out. Couldn't Thor have given them something to go off of? This was like sending someone to find the world's smallest needle in a field of overgrown grass. Except replace the needle with a hammer and the field with nine different worlds. But the odds were about the same for either scenario.

Nobody said anything.

"Maybe we could go talk to my brother!" Tyson offered. "Your dude who showed up said you could need our help, maybe we can find something out?"

Magnus was feeling a little hopefully now. "Yeah! I bet Annabeth could help us, too!"

"I thought Percy made it clear he wanted to focus on college now, and not, you know, having to face every supernatural threat that happens in this world." Alex countered. "You can't blame the guy; if I had faced all he has, I know I'd feel the same."

Silence fell again.

We have to try. Hearth signed. Annabeth will help Magnus.

Magnus translated for Alex and Tyson.

"Yay! We are going to New Rome!" Tyson cried.

"How?" Alex asked.

Tree? Hearth offered.

"NO!" Magnus exclaimed. "He said Tree." he said for Alex.

"NO!" Alex echoed.

"I have an idea! But I'll have to withdraw some drachmas before we do!" Tyson grinned happily as he steered the ship closer to Boston.


	3. Chapter 3

Want to give a shout out to Solei Dragheart for your review! Thank you! And I finally gave the new praetor a name, so I guess he is my first OC!

Also, I don't ever remember reading what Dakota's last name was, so I took liberties with that, too.

 _Tyson_

Tyson grinned happily as the ship made it's way across the docile waters. The Atlantic was known for it's tempermental nature, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. Even the sea ponies escourted the vessel and Mrs. O'Leary hung her head over the side, massive tongue lolling out.

He noticed how tense his new friends were getting as they got closer to Boston, and he tried to distract them each time a new sea pony jumped out of the water, or a dolphin showed up. It worked for a while; Alex even jumped in the water and transformed into a dolphin to swim with the fishies.

Ella sang "Row, row, row your boat" over and over, but he didn't mind. He liked her voice, it was actually kind of pretty.

Then suddenly, he felt it; the sea changed to something foreign, something he had never sensed before. He lived in the ocean with his father and other Cyclopes in the underwater forge, and after sailing to the Sea of Monsters, there were many things of the waters he could tell just by sensing them. But this was something he had never encountered before. Even the sea ponies and dolphins had disappeared.

"Hey, where did they all go?" Alex asked, still in the water, now in human form.

The boat didn't seem to want to obey him anymore. "Bad boat!" he cried.

Suddenly Magnus yelled, "Alex! Get out of the water! It's Bag Lady Ran!"

Tyson glanced over to where Magnus was looking, in between struggling with the boat. A very old, barnacle covered woman was approaching them fast, surrounded by swirling water.

"MAGNUS CHASE!" she bellowed.

"Ew, nasty sea lady." Tyson pointed out. "Makes waters choppy!"

"I WILL KILL YOU!" the Norse goddess roared. "And your weird friends! Your souls will be mine!"

Ella squawked angrily. "Punch her! Punch her!"

Tyson watched as the sea lady reached over the ship and tried to grab Magnus. He snapped. "BAD SEA LADY!" he punched the woman so hard, the goddess even flew backwards several feet.

The sea suddenly shifted back to sunshine and still waters. "No one threatens Tyson's friends!" he called after her.

Just as quickly , the sea shifted back to angry. The sea lady returned, and shot a whirlpool at Tyson, who gained control of it, and sent it back in the forms of stampeding water horses. He liked horses. Either time the other gained the upper hand, the sea shifted back and forth like some kind of epileptic strobe-light of nature.

Somewhere, Magnus called, "Jack!"

In the middle of his battle, Tyson noticed a glowing gold sword join in.

"Hi pretty sword!" Tyson called.

"Hi awesome one eyed dude!" Jack responded.

As Jack engaged, Hearthstone rolled the wooden rune _algiz_ across the deck, and hit the bottom of his staff on the floor. Suddenly, a sort of force field appeared around the boat, preventing Ran from causing them farther harm. Tyson couldn't understand the hand gestures the elf made at him, but his expression seemed to tell him to try and speed the ship up.

Tyson nodded. "Go Boat!" and focusing all his attention, the ship zipped into the harbor in Boston, where a short figure wearing a sort of helmet with a cover was waving enthusiastically at them.

 _Dakota_

All the cohorts spent the whole day building new _carroballistas,_ the artillery pieces that fired gigantic bolt-like arrows. The new praetor was living up to his heritage, and was taking his duty very seriously. At morning muster he gave a long speech that Dakota had lost focus on quiet a bit, but picked up on things like:

"It is our solemn charge to be ready for whatever the cosmos throws our way. We must remain ever vigilant, and not fall into a false state of security."

and

"There are many forces out there, more than just Roman, as we learned in the Titan War. We must increase security, keep a constant awareness of what is going on outside..." blah, blah, blah.

Praetor Altair Dolabella also did not approve of Dakota's constant Kool-Aid drinking, as Dakota found out within hours of Altair's new role. However, Frank was able to convince Altair to table the discussion for another day.

Dakota wasn't sure what to think of him. He didn't really know him, he was from the esteemed Second Cohort. Altair had light golden tan skin, and bright hazel eyes that seemed to notice EVERYTHING. His cider colored hair was even in the perfect regulation hair cut, which was like identical to the popular '90s caesar haircut. He had a strange tattoo on his neck, partially hidden by his armor, but Dakota could make out a little of what seemed to be a pillar with leaf vines jutting from them.

What surprised him the most, the new praetor joined them making the wooden artillery pieces, and seemed to _enjoy_ it.

Dakota motioned Hazel over to him. "Hey, stand right there for a minute, but look like you are doing something."

"What?" Hazel asked, but realized Dakota was using her as a vision block as he sneaked a swig of his Kool Aid.

"Really, Dakota?" Hazel grunted.

"You're the best." he gave her a big cherry Kool Aid dyed smile.

It was evening when the cohorts headed to their barracks for the night, except those that were put on Praetor Dolabella's increased patrols and security. Dakota and Hazel were almost to the barracks, and the former's bed that was calling his name when a woman's voice called out, "Centurion Quinn! Centurion Quinn!"

Dakota turned to see the descendant of Antevorta running toward him, her red cloak billowing behind her.

"Centurion, I did as you requested. The goddess Antevorta said she will speak with you, at her altar in the city."


	4. Chapter 4

_Dakota_

Dakota turned to Hazel. "One of us should look after our cohort. I'll go alone."

Hazel looked genuinely concerned. "Are you sure? We do have optios for a reason." She was referring to the rank right below them, sort of like their junior officer or assistant.

Dakota nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure. I'll be back...well, whenever."

Hazel looked like she wanted to protest, but finally left to go to the Fifth Cohort's barracks. Dakota began the long walk towards the actual town of New Rome, complete with Forum, houses, and demigod and legacy college. This caused him to think of Gwen, Hazel's predecessor, who had completed her service in the legion, and was now living a regular, college-student life in the city. He hadn't seen her since the Titan War. He wondered how she was. Hazel was great, but he missed Gwen's optimism.

Since he was dismissed for the day, no one really bothered him about why he was leaving the grounds. He did pass Reyna, but almost didn't recognize her in her now standard legionaire silver colored breastplate and red cloak, in place of her former praetor gold armor and purple cloak. He didn't realize who she was until he had already gave her a "I know you are waving at me, but who are you?" look, and now figured Reyna thought him rude. Oh well. Whatever.

Terminus, the god of boundaries, stopped him at the entrance to the town. "Credentials!"

"Yeah, cool." Dakota showed him his centurion badge, and handed over his gladius.

"Very good, very good. In you go, Centurion Quinn."

Dakota made his way to the open area in the center of town, called the Forum. He was surprised when he ran into Annabeth, one of the Greek demigods who had fought with them against Gaea.

"Oh hi!" Annabeth said, upon seeing him. "I know you; you're Dakota." she said it with no question mark.

"Yeah, You're Percy Jackson's girl, right?" Dakota nervously took a sip of his Kool-Aid. "I didn't know you were here in New Rome."

"Yes, finishing getting signed up for classes. Just got back from visiting my cousin not that long ago."

"Oh, that's cool. Not many keep in touch with their mortal family once, you know..."

"Believe me, I know. And my cousin is not a mortal." Annabeth said, but she her expression said not to pry too much.

"Wow. Demigods everywhere, or whatever." Dakota rebuked himself for sounding so dumb. He soon realized how far the sun had sunk, and knew he had to hurry if he was going to get answers from the goddess Antevorta before his mysterious visitor appeared again. "Hey, I gotta run, but it was nice seeing you."

She must have noticed his stressed expression because as he turned to go, she grabbed his arm. "Hey, are you alright? Something seems to be bothering you. Please tell me the world doesn't need saving again. Not when I'm about to start Architecture studies!"

This finally got a laugh out of Dakota. "No! I just am meeting someone in the Forum. Which I have to do before nightfall before...yeah...um, gotta run." Dakota took off at a sprint, which showed just how determined he was to get answers. Outside of his time in service, nothing really motivated him to run...unless he ran out of Kool-Aid. That is the epitome of motivation for running.

He reached the Forum to find no one there yet. He glanced around, and sighed. Was he being stood up by a goddess? Just as he was about to plop down on the ground, a woman in a toga appeared, holding up a pocket watch, and smiling at him approvingly.

"Ah, right when you are supposed to be here, Dakota, son of Bacchus. You don't have to sit now. And my sisters will be here in three, two,-"

 _POP!_

A very ancient looking woman and a woman wearing a necklace, bracelets, and anklets covered in every charm and symbol imaginable, and wearing scholarly looking glasses appeared out of thin air.

"Impeccable timing!" the woman with the pocketwatch stated, putting it back in a pocket in her toga.

All three of the women now looked at him.

"You are wanting to ask us questions!" the first woman stated.

"He has been visited several times by a woman." the old woman said, shaking her cane at him.

"Unwanted visitors? I have a charm for that! Plus books you can read to do research on the topic!" the third woman added.

"Uhhhh..." Dakota felt like his brain was either overloading or melting. He wasn't sure which one. "I thought I was meeting the goddess Antevorta, no offense, ladies."

"Yes! That is I!" the woman with the pocket watch exclaimed happily. "I am Antevorta, goddess of the future!"

"And you can't know anything without knowing the past. Everything has a beginning, sonny." the old woman croaked. "I am Postvorta, goddess of the past."

"And I am Carmenta, goddess of charms and higher learning! Also, I am the bridge between these two!" Carmenta leaned closer, and whispered to him, "When I'm not around, they make poor decisions because one doesn't remember the past, and the other can't plan because she can't think ahead!"

"You will be getting a visitor soon!" Antevorta announced. "We better hurry with this meeting!"

"I believe that is why he is here, to ask questions about his visitor." Carmenta explained.

"What are we doing here, again?" Postvorta asked.

"Soooo, I guess I wanted to ask who this woman is that keeps visiting me? Like, is she a goddess, a demigod? Or am I just imagining things?" Dakota shifted back and forth on his feet. The three goddesses were exhausting him and he hadn't even gotten any information out of them.

"Oh, she was real, young man. I know what you saw." Postvorta said.

"Really, who? Is it the same woman who will appear shortly?" Antevorta asked, excitedly.

"How am I supposed to know? I can only see the past!"

"Ladies!" Carmenta cried. "Oh never mind!" Carmenta grabbed a symbol off of her bracelet, which he recognized as the symbol of the zodiac sign Libra, meaning balance, stability, and justice. She closed her eyes and clutched the charm, before she lit up, and the light spread to the other two women.

"Oh! So she is the same goddess you were talking about!" Antevorta said, looking at Postvorta.

"That was Vanth you saw." Postvorta explained. "Back in my day, we all existed at the same time before the Romans took over."

"Wait, I thought you were Roman." Dakota questioned. Yup, his brain was now non-existant. It had gone on vacation somewhere far away.

"We are!" Antevorta remarked.

"We weren't." Postvorta countered.

"Really?" her opposite asked, mindboggled.

Carmenta rolled her eyes. "I left my study and my students for this. Honestly. Dakota, apparently you are being visited by a faded goddess named Vanth. You are correct, we are Roman now, but those two came from an older pantheon worshipped by the Etruscans before they were absorbed into the Roman one. I myself was Greek before I switched sides."

"Wait, what? How can-?" Dakota asked.

"I loved Rome. So structured, duty driven. I mean, have you met the Greek gods? And I love to learn, and what better way than to go out into the world and actually live it? Greek gods had these silly rules about not communicating with their children-"

"Ahem." Dakota tried to clear his throat in the most respectable way possible. "So, who is this Vanth, and why is she contacting me, of all the demigods in the world?"

"Young man, Vanth was a goddess of destiny. She escourted the dead to the Etruscan underworld. Very sweet girl, though. Never knew how she could be so nice with such a depressing job." Postvorta finished. "Though, in the old days, when she appeared, it meant you were going to die, and she patiently waited until you did."

"Oh gods, am I going to die?!" Dakota dropped his Kool-Aid, and was so shaken, he didn't even notice his precious elixir was watering the grass now.

"No! You are not!" Antevorta assured him. "Something bad will be happening, and she will need your help."

"But, you said she was faded. What does that mean?" Dakota pressed. "And why does she want to contact me? And what bad thing?"

Antevorta pulled out her pocket watch. "Time's almost up. Vanth will be here soon. She is weak, you will need to lend her some strength."

"What?"

Carmenta placed a hand kindly on his shoulder. "Dakota, your father is not just a god of wine. He has some sort of power concerning life and death energies. Also hallucinations."

"Great. I am going crazy. Just great." Dakota mumbled.

Carmenta created three charms out of thin air. "This is cimaruta." It looked like a jumble of lines. "This will give you knowledge, abundance, and protection from evil." The second was a horn with fruit falling out of it. "This is cornicopia, the symbol of fortune and plenty."

"I now have plenty of plenty." Dakota commented.

"And the ram, for energy and power." Carmenta placed them all in his hand. "They will help you, Dakota, son of Bacchus."

"TIME!" Antevorta yelled, and suddenly, all three were gone, leaving Dakota in the night.

Notes:

Definitely the historian coming out in me, but added some more Roman military references. (

Cartwright, Mark. "Roman Siege Warfare". Ancient Encyclopedia.

.eu/Roman_Siege_Warfare/

Cartwright, Mark. "Etruscan Religion". Ancient Encyclopedia.  .eu/Etruscan_Religion/

Dando-Collins, Stephen. _Legions of Rome._ 2010\. St. Martin's Press.

Illes, Judika. _Encyclopedia of Spirits._ 2009\. Harper One.

"Mythological Symbols"  /mythological_ 

Rodgers, Nigel "Artillery" _Roman Empire._ 2016\. pgs 170-171


	5. Chapter 5

_Magnus_

A well dressed dwarf in a black tailcoat, emerald green vest, wearing a helmet with a thick mesh was waving eagerly to them from the dock As soon as the ship was close enough to the dock, Hearth jumped over the rail, and threw himself on Blitzen.

"Alright, alright." Blitz grinned, patting the blond, pale elf on the back. "I'm happy to see you too." He waved to Magnus and Alex, and shook hands with Tyson. The last time Tyson and Blitz were together, they had been designing a pocketwatch that expanded into a fully functional shield. "Tyson! I started making the chain for the shield!"

"Really!" Tyson exclaimed. "Yay! Let's see!"

Blitz led them back towards his shop, which was now open, and business was beginning to take off as dwarves, demigods, and mortals alike stopped by to check out his well made, stylish, and practical items.

Magnus watched as Blitz and Tyson chatted about various smithing and metallurgy things, that Magnus had no clue about. His eyes drifted over to Hearth, who was walking behind Blitz and Tyson, an unreadable look on his face. Magnus wondered if Hearth was feeling left out, but before he could catch up, Alex fell in beside him.

"We should go back to Valhalla." Alex said.

"Ok. Why?" Magnus asked.

Alex grunted at him. "Maybe because his mighty thunder-ness has sent us on a wild goose chase, and we have nowhere to start looking."

"I thought we decided to meet with my cousin, Annabeth? And how is Valhalla going to help? We can't really go in there and be like 'Hey! An item may or may not be missing, but does anyone know anything?' "

"Alright, Mr. Smarty Pants. Reason 1: We have completed our mission, so we are supposed to return to Valhalla. Reason 2: If we don't let the thanes know that we have been sent on _another_ mission, they might start to wonder why we are not back, and send einherji after us. Reason 3: If we don't have a clue about something regarding Norse stuff, how in the Nine Worlds is your cousin who is a-"

"Greek." Magnus filled in the blank Alex was requesting.

"Greek demigod going to help?"

"I don't know. Annabeth knows stuff, alot of stuff." Magnus countered.

"Well, _I_ know that we need to go back to Valhalla."

Magnus sighed and muttered under his breath. There was no way he was going to let Alex know she was right. He jogged to catch up to the others. "Hey guys, Alex and I need to get back to Valhalla, but I will send a raven when we are ready to meet up."

Hearth looked startled, and walked toward him. _What? What are we supposed to do?_

"What is happening?" Tyson asked.

"Ella is tired, Ella wants to go home." the harpy snuggled her head against Tyson's neck.

Magnus looked over to Alex. She raised her eyebrows as if saying, _Oh, now you want my help._ Magnus rolled his eyes at her before turning back to the others.

Tyson looked concerned at his girlfriend. "Ella is very tired. We should rest."

 _Rest. Ok. Then what?_ Magnus couldn't help but notice the slight aggitation in his friend's signs. Was Hearth really having a hard time with a new member to their group? Blitz seemed to notice, too, but thankfully, Tyson was unaware of what was happening.

"Ella goes to Rome." Ella murmured. She was starting to fall asleep where she was perched on Tyson's shoulders.

"Yeah!" Tyson agreed. "Tyson will take his new friends to New Rome, and you can meet us there!"

 _How? The World Tree could be uncertain in other gods' domain._ Hearth signed, and Magnus translated for Alex, Tyson, and Ella. Yes, Magnus was certain now that Hearth was not wild about any of this.

"Shadow travel!" Tyson exclaimed, clapping his hands together happily.

Magnus remembered Annabeth and Tyson explaining Shadow Travel to him; apparently Greek monsters and children of their death god could use a technique to get to distant places very quickly. He still didn't understand all of it, but anything had to be better than the Tree. "There you go!" he nodded his head, motioning for Hearth to follow him. The elf did so, and the two stepped a little further from the others.

 _Are you alright?_ Magnus asked. _You don't seem very happy with what is going on._

Hearth just stared at him. _Don't like us separating. Don't know anything about_

 _R-O-M-A-N-S, except that we fought against each other in the old days._

Magnus stiffened. He really needed to read up on his history and mythology. _What are you talking about?_

 _G-O-T-H-S, related to our people-_ he motioned to Blitz, Alex, and him, _caused end of R. Don't think we can trust them. They won't trust us._

 _I trust A, P, and T._ Magnus used for Annabeth, Percy, and Tyson. _Their friends trust them.I will send a raven, telling A you are on your way there._

Hearth shrugged and walked away from him. Magnus watched the elf's back, wondering if all of this was a bad omen for everything ahead of them. Hearth's attitude stung a little, too. Sure, the elf had been through alot lately, but ever since they had been forced to go to Alfheim and face Hearth's father, his friend had been withdrawn, melancholy, and moody.

Magnus met Alex's eyes. "Come on, let's go." He glanced at the other four before turning to go. Everyone apparently sensed the mood now; their eyes seemed full of worry and concern. Magnus forced a smile. "Don't worry you guys."

Notes:

Gibbon, Edward _The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire_

Dando-Collins, Stephen _Legions of Rome_

Rodgers, Nigel _Roman Empire_


	6. Chapter 6

I have always liked Dakota in the official books, though not much personal information about him is given in them. Taking a few liberties with a background story, which I hope everyone will enjoy.

 _Dakota_

Dakota stood in the dark, blinking. What in the world had just happened? It didn't help that he was starting to get hyper off of his Kool-Aid; all he could comprehend was some mortal song he had heard last time he visited his family, that was currently popping around in his head. As he began to bop his head to the sound of his own humming, a faint figure began to materialize behind him.

The figure watched as Dakota reached an air guitar solo, with her head cocked to one side, as if completely mystified and intrigued as to what the demigod was doing. It was not until Dakota began to dance around, that he finally saw the figure.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed, dropping his flask again, and jumping backwards. "Uh, hi! Are you Vanth? The three goddesses who were just here said you would be here soon, if you are Vanth. If you aren't, then, uh...yeah."

The transparent figure smiled kindly. Though he could see through her, as if she were a ghost, he could tell she was the same woman who had appeared to him in the barracks. "You are correct, I am Vanth." her voice sounded faint, as if coming from far away instead of near him.

"Cool! If you don't mind me asking, and I hope you don't take any offense, but, why do you keep appearing to me? And how is it that you are able to get into New Rome? I mean, you aren't Roman, but on second thought, that didn't stop Percy getting in, and he is Greek, so I guess just about anyone could get in here if they wanted to. Not exactly a comforting thought, but you know, what can we do?." Dakota bobbed up and down on his feet.

Vanth followed his movements with her soft brown eyes. "I am-was- a goddess of the Etruscan people, in Tuscany. Many of the gods of my people are gone now, except for the god you call Dionysius. He was Greek, and my people excepted him as one of us, and he is one of the only gods I am familiar with that could help me. I could sense your link to him, and that is how I found you."

"Oookay." Dakota answered, still rocking back and forth on his heels. "How can a god be gone? And why did you refer to yourself in the past tense? Are you dead? Wait, how can a god die? Aren't you a death goddess? Can a death goddess die?" He was quite proud of himself for not laughing at the strange ironic humor in that last sentence.

Vanth looked at him curiously. "Are you well?"

"Me, oh, yeah, I'm great! I mean, I think. You aren't taking me to some forgotten Underworld, are you?" he took a large drink from his flask, and flashed her an energetic smile.

The ghostly goddess began to laugh. "No, son of Fuflun, I am not here to escort you to the Underworld. At least, not in the way you think..." her voice trailed off, and her image flickered.

In his surprise, Dakota flung his flask in the air, which bounced off the head of a statue of his father. "Hey, what is that supposed to mean? No, I'm not going to any Underworld. Not Greek, not Roman, not yours, not my other ancestors' death paradise, well, I mean that one might be cool, not all gloomy and doomy like the others, but I mean, I'm not ready to die! And like I said, I'd rather go to a death paradise than a doom and gloom."

Vanth's face became sad. "The world is in danger, son of Fuflun."

Dakota's fidgeting was becoming agitated. "The world is always in danger! When is it not? Mortals are always destroying stuff when supernatural crises are not! And my father is Bacchus, not this Fuflun! Look, sorry, lady, but you got the wrong person. My loyalty lies with the Romans. I am Roman. I got enough things to deal with."

Dakota turned curtly on his heels, and strode off towards the barracks again, his flask completely forgotten.

Sources:

Stookey, Lorena Laura. _Thematic Guide to World Mythology_

Thomson de Grummond, Nancy. _Etruscan Myth, Sacred History, and Legend_

Thomson de Grummond, Nancy and Erika Simon. _The Religion of the Etruscans_

Zajko, Vanda and Helena Hoyle _A Handbook to the Reception of Classical Mythology_


	7. Chapter 7

Want to give a shout out to Lilly for your kind words and review! 3 thank you so much!

 _Altair_

The sun was long gone, and the candle on his desk was burning low as the new praetor sifted through papers. He gazed into the flames for a moment, his mind drifting back over his past. It was a very long past, too, so long that getting lost in thinking about it would take up much of his time. Once, Altair had worried about such things, but when you can not die, things such as worrying about time didn't really matter much. Altair took his time with everything now, mostly because he knew he had so much of it to spare.

However, he had learned to balance duty and urgency with his increasingly lax attitude towards time. He had learned the hard way through the centuries that others did not have the luxury he did; their lives burned as quickly as the candle before him. He had even seen gods and goddesses die, from every region of the world imaginable. There were very few gods that were completely alive now, most had faded to a shadow of themselves from neglect. Some could be mistaken for ghosts.

He still had a hard time believing his good fortune; to have found this sanctuary of demigods. He had spent so long in the mortal world, full of increasing devices and weapons. Most mortals were so fixated and completely devoted to these new inventions, that he had seen strange apparitions grow from this energy. Altair didn't belong in the modern world, he belonged in the familiar structure of Rome, facing mortal and immortal dangers alike. Unfortunately, when you cannot die, you constantly have to re-invent yourself, otherwise mortals and even demigods became suspicious of you. He knew he would not be able to stay here a long time, but perhaps he could remain here several years before he had to move on to somewhere else.

He leaned back in the chair, the candlelight dancing on his slightly bronze skin. He did not get to relax long, as a figure began to materialize before him. The form was a woman, tall and lean, with tan skin and black hair hidden under a military barrette. She wore a modern military uniform of mustard green colored shirt and pants, and black combat boots. She had a bullpup rifle slung over her shoulders. There was a wild light in her eyes that was always there, though it sometimes burned hotter or calmer depending on her level of anger. Right now, her eyes burned with as docile a light as she possibly could have.

Altair stood. "Hello Mother."

"Son." The woman said curtly, taking in his ancient Roman attire.

Altair similarly observed her modern uniform. "What activities have you been part of in the mortal world this time, mother?" he asked, and not completely in a pleasant way.

"Oh, there are plenty of things in the Middle East for me to be involved in." she answered. "Since you have gone all retro on me, would you prefer this?" She transformed herself into a woman with long black hair, wearing a crown of myrtle leaves and cow horns. "Or perhaps that is not retro enough for you." She then changed into wearing her hair in Egyptian style braids, scantly clad in Egyptian dress with a crown of feathers on her head, and holding a gigantic spear. She was surrounded by flames of fire. "Oh my, I had forgotten how incredible this form feels! When the world fled before the great Anat!"

Altair refrained from groaning in annoyance. Instead, he folded his arms across his chest, and waited for his goddess mother Anat to come back to the present. How his Roman demigod father had put up with her antics, he would never know.

Unlike the gods who were only remembered by the stories, and therefore had their powers diminished, Anat had defeated Death in combat, and so nothing could diminish her powers. Altair did not wish to ever see a display of her full-fledged powers.

"Hmm, well, back to the present for me." Anat switched back to the modern uniform.

"Mother, what can I do for you?" Altair asked politely.

"Can I not visit my son?" the flames flickered around her body.

"Of course." Altair had to remember he was pretty much the only living family member she had in modern times. Her official consort had faded, the Egyptian pantheon she had been adopted into had diminished to the point of being almost ghosts, and his grandmother, another goddess, was fading as well. Altair and Anat could not die, so they were doomed to watch everything else wither away. This softened Altair's outlook towards the visit. He noticed her features began to soften, too. After all, she was the goddess of parenthood and love, as well as war. She rushed towards Altair with glistening eyes, and Altair allowed himself to be wrapped in her embrace.

He embraced her back. "It is always an honor to see you, mother." He stated, standing back from her.

"Aww." Anat cupped his cheek and smiled. "It has been so long! How long has it been, exactly?"

"The 1960s." Altair answered. "Plus, we spent all of the 1940s together. It was when the gods fought against technology to remind humanity that they still existed." It had been pretty much the same thing in the 1910s.

"Ah, yes. Such foolishness that was." Anat shook her head at what the other gods had done. "Dying gods spurred humanity into a frenzy against each other because they couldn't stand to be forgotten. I, however, have found that to be forgotten is a blessing."

"How so?" Altair was curious about this new-found revelation of his mother's.

"It you are forgotten, you can live life your own way; you are not bound by what others expect of you." Anat answered, wistfully.

Altair couldn't help but be impressed. "I had never thought about it that way. To live in obscurity. But, does obscurity have meaning if there is no end to it?"

Anat grinned. "That, I cannot answer. However, when you tire of playing dress-up in the past, you should join me back in the homeland."

Another machine gun appeared, and she held it out to him. Altair touched it; its feel was so familiar to him; he had used it in his homeland _and_ fighting for his adopted country.

Altair shook his head. "Don't you ever tire of it, mother? The endless fighting in the mortal world, and no one knows when it will all end. What is there to fight for anymore?"

Anat's eyes blazed briefly. "That there will be something left for the future. That their children and their children's children will have something left to call home." She left the rifle in his hands and was suddenly gone.

Altair sunk back into his chair, and gazed at the machine gun. Was he making a mistake? Which world need him the most? The demigods or the mortals?

Sources:

"Best of the Bullpups: Top 12 Compact Rifles and Shotguns _". Tactical Weapons Magazine_

"History of the Bullpup Rifle" _Guns and Ammo_

The Illustrated Enyclopedia of World Mythology

Gahlin, Lucia. _Egypt: Gods, Myths, and Religion_

Illes, Judika. _Encyclopedia of Spirits_


End file.
